Greetings Guest!

CheersandGears.com was founded in 2001 and is one of the oldest continuously operating automotive forums out there. Come see why we have users who visit nearly every day for the past 16+ years. Signup is fast and free, or you can opt for a premium subscription to view the site ad-free.

Federal Government To Automakers: Tell Us Your Secrets

I've got a secret

The U.S. Commerce Department is asking automakers to spill their secrets; product planning, financing, supply chains, and other bits that aren't in public filings.

Bloomberg reports that the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security sent out a 34-page questionnaire asking for sensitive details to several automakers. Failure to do so could result "in a maximum fine of $10,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both" as mentioned on the first page of the survey.

“The breadth and depth of this request is invasive, requiring massive amounts of proprietary and confidential business data from global operations -- all under the pretense of national security,” said Gloria Bergquist, spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers - a group that represents a number of companies including General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

“Frankly, it’s stunning from an administration committed to getting government out of the way of business.”

The Trump administration wants such things as how much each company’s research budget goes to specific areas such as autonomous driving, electric drive, connected vehicles, and lightweight technology. The questionnaire also seeks a list of suppliers for major vehicles systems and where they’re located.

Other questions deal with the business plan from now until 2020 and whether or not imports hurt sales.

Susan Helper, a former chief economist of the Commerce Department during the Obama administration said Bureau of Industry and Security has conducted dozen of these surveys in the past, mostly dealing with sectors closely linked to the defense industry.

“This is a consequence of the Trump administration’s expanded definition of national security I hadn’t thought about. I can see both sides on this -- it is burdensome for companies, but on the other hand it’s important for policy makers to understand global supply chains as they have an increasing impact on the U.S. economy,” Helper told Bloomberg.

Dave Sullivan, an analyst at AutoPacific told Bloomberg that the level of information that the government is asking is "disturbing'.

“The only time I’ve seen something like that is when a supplier is not doing very well financially and the automaker is trying to understand their financial state and their future. They’re fully undressing automakers and how they do their business to a disturbing level.”

The Commerce Department will be holding a hearing on the investigation on July 19th in Washington D.C. Around 45 people, representing various automakers, labor unions, and more will be testifying.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Just about every level of Gov't tacks on a 'revenue ticket' in just about every operation. It's automatic. Why in the hell should the local gov't take $9 of my money/year because I have a dog? What expense does the township incur due to my dog ownership? (Note: I do not have any dogs.)

This reminds me of the 2017 census questionaire, where they wanted bank account numbers and balances down to the penny and any/all other sources of income, including cash. There was the usual threat of fines/imprisonment, mixed in the a heaping measure of threatening language. Big Gov't can take a flying fuk at a rolling donut.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Share on other sites

is the just a tit for tat policy @Drew Dowdell? is that why you support this?

My fault, the way I said it came out wrong and unclear. Trump is arguing with China to get them to stop this requirement. That's what I agree with him on.... not the domestic requirements he is doing here.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Share on other sites

My fault, the way I said it came out wrong and unclear. Trump is arguing with China to get them to stop this requirement. That's what I agree with him on.... not the domestic requirements he is doing here.

ah, that makes it clear. i don't understand how this would work since it's directed at auto manufacturers and not directly at china, or it's exports, but we do keep hearing that Chinese brands want to export to here, sometime in the near future.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Share on other sites

ah, that makes it clear. i don't understand how this would work since it's directed at auto manufacturers and not directly at china, or it's exports, but we do keep hearing that Chinese brands want to export to here, sometime in the near future.

Right now a big issue in China is that manufacturer, particularly in tech and automotive, are required to turn over intellectual property to state-owned businesses. Trump is fighting that.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Why should any automaker turn over such information to ANY government?! China should never ask for such info and neither should the US government. China should not require that all intellectual property be turned over to state-owned enterprises either. Since China's entire plan and policy is to monopolize technologies that are used worldwide any way they can, the answer is at best total trade isolation of China ---- if not an actual shooting war. Unfortunately, for many reasons, we may end up having one.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Hey GOV, Go jump off the Fuking cliff. No way do you have any right to this info. WTF, Potus, your not our dictator yet and nor will you be allowed to become.

You should have seen the "survey" the the government sent us...holy smokes was it bad! And ours said failure to failure the fill it out in a timely manner meant actual real jail time (like 3 months or something like that)